


Memory Awakens

by Merfilly



Series: Of Queens and Kings [2]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-27
Updated: 2012-01-27
Packaged: 2017-10-30 05:22:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/328185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Sarah pushes Toby to recall what should not be possible</p>
            </blockquote>





	Memory Awakens

Toby had flashes of a shiny ball flit through his mind in tandem with strangely distorted beings surrounding him as he stood in the courtyard with his sister. Her costume, for it had to be one, even if he had no idea how his door could have opened onto her stage, drew his attention in. The cloth was… fine, yet he knew instantly it was not machined. There was something rustic to the whole effect, even if she was gaudily larger than life, just as he dimly remembered from before she left home.

"I…"

"You're confused. And in denial. That's common enough, the few times I've pulled people from the flat world into the Labyrinth." She smiled, and circled him, reminding him all too sharply of his recent class on predatory raptors and their behavior. "You grew up fairly well, despite being half-human."

"What?" exploded from Toby's mouth even as his mind reeled. This was impossible. He was a normal guy, just trying to make it in a normal world, not standing in a fantasy realm talking to a loon who looked like his sister, spouting nonsense at him.

"Oh, you have much to learn, Toby. But first, I need your help." She stopped in front of him and made him meet her eyes. "We have to find Jareth."

Jareth.

The word burned through his consciousness, unlocking the memories, dimly seen through the haze of a toddler's perceptions. He remembered nights, before Sarah left, of an owl that swooped in close to her, and she had no fear of it. 

He remembered her leaving, and seeing a man in white join her in her car, down the street, after his parents had already gone inside.

Jareth was part of the madness, but in remembering that, Toby was faced with the fact he was just as bound by that madness too.


End file.
